One of the best parts of being a blogger is attending events. One of the best parts of my job is working with awesome people to put on said events. Last weekend, both halves of my life were able to connect in a whirlwind 48-hour NYC trip for my youngest daughter and me.

We attended the premiere of the upcoming move, Ratchet & Clank.

Based on the PlayStation video game franchise, Ratchet and Clank tells a story about two unlikely heroes who join forces to stop a vile alien named Chairman Drek from destroying every planet in the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet is the last of his kind, a foolhardy ‘lombax’ who has grown up alone on a backwater planet with no family of his own. Clank is a pint-sized robot with more brains than brawn. When the two stumble upon a dangerous weapon capable of destroying entire planets, they must join forces with a team of colorful heroes called The Galactic Rangers in order to save the galaxy. Along the way, they will learn about heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering one’s own identity.

We did Red Carpet photos before - my kid absolutely LOVES the camera.

Modeling the spiffy 3D glasses - yup, the movie was shown in 3D, in a Dolby LaboratoriesScreening Room which featured Dolby Atmos®. I'd never heard of it, but it really made the movie seem lifelike. The amazing sound and fantastic 3D effects really made the movie pop!!

If you can catch this movie in 3D, I would highly recommend it!

Before the movie began, we had a fabulous buffet spread.

I am a long time fan of charcuterie, yum!

What movie is complete without popcorn?

All of the bloggers and their families, ready for the movie. Gotta love 3D glasses!

The film follows Ratchet, who is an ambiguous animal but most closely resembles a cat - or maybe a fox. In fact, one of the characters pokes fun at Ratchet because he is unable to distinguish what sort of animal he might be. Ratchet is fiercely determined and sets his sights on becoming a Galaxy Ranger, which is like a policeman of the universe. He overcomes a variety of obstacles including species discrimination, and ultimately triumphs when he meets his partner in crime, a robot named Clank.

Riley's favorite quote from the movie? "You don't have to do big things to be a hero. Just the right things." That's a lesson I've worked hard to incorporate into my kids' lives.

If you are looking for a great flick to watch with the kids, you'll enjoy this movie. Themes of heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering your own identity abound, but it's not in your face preachy - it's a light lesson that really hit home.

There's also a great cast of voice talent such as Sylvester Stallone (it took a minute to figure out who he was!), Paul Giamatti and John Goodman. And of course, super sci-fi nerds will recognize Armin Shimerman's voice (he played Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as the super-cool mad scientist Doctor Nefarious.

If you're ready to "Kick Some Asteroid," then get your tickets now and set your sights on Ratchet & Clank, IN THEATERS FRIDAY.

In the month of November, I am performing what, in my mind, is an experiment on my personal Facebook page. Every day, I pick two of my friends, at random, and I leave a post on their own personal Facebook page. In that post, I tell them why I appreciate their friendship, what I like about them, what makes them unique and special. I finish off by saying, "thanks for being my friend!" Or something along those lines.

It's been really interesting to me, both to reflect on why my friends are my friends, and to see what happens to those post when they go live. Often, the person is caught unaware, and I really am enjoying the fact that it makes other people happy. The best times have been when their friends, who are not my friends, comment in agreement.

Why not try it for yourself, during this month, which is most commonly the month of gratitude? Pick a couple of friends every day – I usually do two or three, although I chose 10 today – and tell them why they're awesome.

One caveat: I probably will not comment on my kids teachers pages, for fear of people thinking I'm trying to gain favoritism, and I won't comment on any guys pages, if I'm not friends with his wife, and I will comment on the wife's page on the same day if I do. Don't need anymore drama in my life, LOL.

Go forth and spread the gratitude!! Make people happy, and make yourself happy in the process. It's a win-win situation!

How does blogging, journaling, writing and connecting online help to increase your happiness?

The simple answer is, how does it NOT?

Blogging and connecting online has been an integral part of my life for more than 12 years now. It's brought me friends, given me opportunities and taught me more than I ever dreamed possible.

When Gabe was a baby - TWELVE years ago - I discovered a website called One Hot Mama. I was originally searching for nursing clothing that didn't look like they belonged on Little House on the Prairie.

Nothing wrong with that show. I love that show. Just don't want to dress like it, kwim?

The discussion boards quickly became part of my life. I found friends there that were more authentic and understanding than people who were in my life on a daily basis. We formed such a tight bond that I traveled across the country with my baby to spend a week with these women - who I had NEVER met and who my husband was convinced weren't real people - and I never looked back.

When one of the women started a blog, I decided to follow suit.

And the rest is history.

I will forever be grateful to the women of OHM, who befriended me, supported me, corrected me lovingly when I was wrong, taught me so much more than I ever imagined, and are still, to this day, there for me in ways that those on the outside cannot imagine. From these first online friends I learned compassion, stick-to-it-iv-ness, developed moxie and a backbone.

Currently, the vast majority of my friends live in the computer. I know more about online friends than local, spend vast quantities of time online and can't imagine my life without an online component. I've taken blog junket trips to Ford, Stouffers, Campbells and Ninja sponsored events, learned about nutrition initiatives on trips to NYC and save my pennies every year to attend blog conferences - all the things I do that make me one happy person.

All online friends - women I love more than life itself - all of whom live inside my computer

Head over to Blogher and enter to win an iPod Touch and a $50 iTunes giftcard!

It's time, once again, to contemplate the Blogher Life Well Lived question. These are light and fun and I'm really interested to hear your answers.

Question: What are your favorite beauty tools?

For me, I live by the following - blowdryer, straightener, velcro rollers, a couple of makeup brushes and cotton rounds. I feel like I *should* use an eyelash curler but they don't seem to make much of a difference in my eyes. I use cotton rounds - AND Q tips, forgot those - for everything.

How do you practice self-acceptance and find unconditional love for yourself? How does practicing love first help you attract more love and happiness in your life?

Self Acceptance is a tough thing for me - I find that it's a very fine line between "I love myself and am happy to be me" and "WOW. I am so, so wonderful that everyone should want to be just.like.me!!!!"

In other words, when does self acceptance and unconditional love become vanity? How do you know if too much is, indeed, too much?

I don't know. I know that it's almost in "vogue" to list your flaws, but I often do it anyway - not in a effort for empathy or to discuss how awful I am, but in an effort to keep me away from the vanity. Then, again, there's a fine line between realism and self pity.

Gah. Aren't you glad that you are not in my head? It's a total messed up place, to be certain.

I find, though, that when I go through a list of my "flaws" - too chunky thighs, bubble bottom, crooked jaw, scars on my arms and legs and boobs from melanoma excisions, lack of patience, easily frustrated, judgemental and not tolerant, etc etc - I then tend to dwell on those, and my day goes downhill. So, to compensate for that, I try to balance them out. I list things about myself that I do like - nice eyes, fair figure (although I need to work on it something fierce!), great at multi-tasking, have ability to accomplish a lot in one day.

When I try to focus on feeling good about myself, it's funny that I tend to be more positive in general. I don't lose my temper quite so quickly, the air smells cleaner, my checkbook balances and I have no acne.

Kidding.

I'd love to know how you manage to balance it.

After commenting here - or if you don't want to (sob, sob) - head over to the Blogher main page to participate in the round up - and read the blog post, where you could enter to win a Kindle Fire!

The holidays may be over, but that doesn't mean the fun has passed! After all, Super Bowl is coming, and then Valentine's day (which both call for sparkly fun in my book!) - and in the blink of an eye, the holidays will be here again.

Yes. I'm getting older and find myself saying things like that.

As part of our reflections on how we celebrated the festivities, in conjunction with Blogher, I'm asking:

What is your favorite way to add a bit of sparkle to your holiday look? Is it with make-up, clothing or accessories?

I've been known to don a pair of false eyelashes, maybe some glitter eyeliner, and definitely the highest heels I can find. I've done a reverse french manicure, in which I paint the base of the nail red and the tips black. That's a really dramatic look.

I have also mixed a sparkly, tinted brightening serum with my foundation, which gives just enough of a hint of shine.

What about you? Have you put feathers in your hair? Maybe stripes of color - that's something I'm interested in, something like this:

I'd love to know how you "glam up" your style.

Comments here are closed, but please comment on the main thread over at Blogher - check out the other answers!

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About Me

Carmen Staicer is a whirlwind of energy and execution, who never sleeps and drinks way too much coffee. She works from home as Social Media Programs Manager for SheKnows, and is the mom to six kids, most of whom play instruments, sing or dance and all of whom are much smarter than she will ever be. In other words, her house is never ever quiet or still. A concentration of asthma, food allergies, spectrum disorders and learning disabilities means that she spends an awful lot of time second guessing herself and Dr. Googling, as well as learning to cook everything the family might like to eat. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, boxing (she has her Black Belt in Muay Thai), sleeping, exploring coffee shops, photography, ballet class and cooking. She excels in being a smart mouth and has her major in sarcasm, with a dual minor in BS studies and avoiding laundry.